Love, Austin
by Mouseworks Inc
Summary: An adaptation of my Scramble Challenge of HeartGold Version. Follow Austin as he writes letters to his father about his Pokémon journey. It's going to be tougher than most, with a Cyndaquil that can't use Fire moves and other odd team members.
1. Beginning to Violet City

Dear Dad,

You said to start writing when I began my Pokémon journey, so that's what I'm doing. You must be excited, I'm sure. But I'm starting to think this might be tougher than I expected. Well, let me tell you what happened today and you might understand.

This morning I woke up from a strange dream I can't really remember. Dr. Oak was in it. When I came down for breakfast, Mom told me that Dr. Elm had a favor to ask me. She had a very strange look on her face, and when she handed me my bag, this pad of paper I'm writing on, and my Trainer Card, I figured something was up.

Before I could head to the Lab, though, I ran into Lyra. She's a nice girl, but she seriously needs to keep track of that Marill of hers.

Professor Elm gave me a Cyndaquil to look after. He told me it has some rare genetic condition where it can't produce fire very well. He wanted to see how well it would do with a trainer, so I agreed to help him. I named the Cyndaquil Tyson. He also asked me to check up on Mr. Pokémon, since he was writing emails again.

Before I left for Cherrygrove, Mom gave me my PokéGear that had just came back from repairs. It's funny how things turn out like that. So I went and got Dr. Elm's number so we could keep in touch.

Route 29 was rather uneventful. Just a couple of fights with some Pidgeys and Sentrets. So I guess now's a good time to tell you how Tyson fights. In battle, he seems very hardy. He's very confident with himself, even though his condition gives him some setbacks. He also has a tendency to miss a lot for some reason.

At Cherrygrove I ran into a man who showed me around town and told me some basics. I didn't really need his help, but I humored him anyway. It doesn't seem like he has much else to do these days.

On Route 30 there's a guy who gave me a basket for Apricorns. He was nice, but it seems like he just built his house so that people would come to it, thinking it was Mr. Pokémon's.

Mr. Pokémon's email was about an egg. He asked me to take it back to Dr. Elm. I agreed. But what was more interesting was that Dr. Oak was there. He looked at me and he said, "You have nice eyes. Eyes like he had..." and then he gave me a Pokédex. It was really weird. Maybe it has something to do with that dream.

As I left Mr. Pokémon's house, Dr. Elm called. He sounded frantic and he told me to come back to the lab ASAP. So I ran all the way to Cherrygrove. As I was about to get onto Route 29, I bumped into a boy I had seen earlier looking into the lab's window. I hadn't given him much thought. He went on about how he was better than anyone else, and he challenged me to a battle. When he sent out a Totodile, I figured out what Dr. Elm was so frantic about. The guy was casing the joint! Anyway, I beat him pretty well, since Tyson was a bit stronger from battling the Pokémon on Routes 29 and 30.

Back at the lab, I was accosted by a police officer who seemed very anxious. This was probably the first case he's had in a while. Lyra stepped in to set things straight, and I told the policeman what I knew about the real culprit. By a stroke of luck, he had dropped his trainer card and I caught his name: Silas.

At this point, I gave the egg to Dr. Elm. He thanked me and also suggested that I take the gym challenge now, which I was planning to do. I decided to give Mom one more goodbye. She asked me if she could save some of my prize money. I said it was okay, as long as she didn't use it. Let's see how long that lasts.

Lyra took it upon herself to show me how to catch Pokémon. And then she showed me again after she realized I was only pretending to watch the first time. She then gave me a couple of PokéBalls. She also told me she's going to take on the gyms as well. I guess I'll be seeing her around.

I stopped by Route 46 to catch a Rattata. I named her Brisby, after that book I read once. I don't really plan on using her, but she'll come in handy.

As you know, The closest gym is in Violet City. So I headed there. Along the way I battled some trainers and traded phone numbers. I also saw the entrance to Dark Cave, but I didn't go in. I plan on doing that later.

Around this time Tyson was near the point where he would learn Ember. But when I tried it out, he couldn't use it. He looked very dejected. I'm beginning to realize the full implications of Tyson's disorder.

Lyra caught up to me at the gatehouse to Violet City. She gave me a Vs. Recorder as a reward for beating her there. Seriously, does she think I have no idea how to be a trainer?

Well, I'm spending the night at the Pokémon Center. Tomorrow I plan to take on the gym here. I hope we'll be ok. Dad, did you have problems with your first gym?

Love, Austin


	2. Sprout Tower, Violet Gym, & New Partner

Dear Dad,

Today I went to the gym first thing to see when I could challenge it. But the man there said that all challengers must climb the Sprout Tower and receive permission from the local sage first. Another roadblock, I guess. It was incredibly easy anyway, since all the trainers had were Bellsprouts and Hoothoots.

As I made it to the top, Who else would I run into but Silas. He had already beaten the Head Sage and was just about to leave when the Head Sage gave him some advice: Be nice to your Pokémon. Silas felt that was bad advice for some reason. He then told me all he cared about was having tough Pokémon and winning. He then left. Dad, thank you for teaching me that the key to good training is trust. I feel sort of sorry for him.

After I beat the Head Sage, Tyson evolved! I am now the proud owner of a Quilava.

At the gym I decided to go straight to the Leader, since Tyson seemed powerful enough. He had also learned Quick Attack while training in the Sprout Tower. He was actually pretty easy, but I had to use Leer a lot because his Pidgeotto because it used Roost a lot.

After receiving the Zephyr Badge, I decided to check out Route 36. There wasn't very many things to do there though, since there was this strange plant blocking a portion of the route. But there was a man who gave me Rock Smash.

Dr. Elm also called. He said that he wanted me to have the egg that I had delivered to him earlier. He said he would have an assistant bring it up tomorrow, so he suggested I stay at Violet City until then. I decided It wouldn't hurt to check out Dark Cave now. Maybe I could find a new team member there.

Dark Cave is certainly true to its name. I didn't get very far into the cave, but I was able to catch a Dunsparce! His name is Sonic. He's very jolly, but also very flighty. He could probably run away from anything.

So now I'm back at the Violet Pokémon Center. I guess I'm spending one more night here. Tomorrow, I'll get the egg and maybe head to Azalea Town!

Love, Austin

PS: Mom just called. She bought something with my money. That was quick! At least she bought it for me. I should expect the delivery tomorrow as well.


	3. Ruins of Alph, Route 32, & Egg Hatching

Dear Dad,

I slept in today. When I went to the Mart, I was relieved my packages were still there. I got a Super Potion from Mom and that egg from Dr. Elm. Then a strange thing happened. When I left the Mart, There was a weird lady wearing a kimono. She walked up to me and told me that the egg I just got was very important. I wonder what that could mean.

I decided to check out the Ruins of Alph nearby. I actually got to help out with the archeology project there! It was actually just solving some puzzles. They were pretty easy. I wonder why no one had been able to solve them yet. It also turns out that the Ruins are an ancient resting place for Unown. They creep me out.

I then went to Route 36. There was a guy there who gave me a Hard Stone. I think he only shows up on Thursdays, so I was pretty lucky.

I decided to head to Route 32 and on to Azalea Town. There was a guy who gave me a Miracle Seed at the beginning. There was also some trainers and some items littered around. Here I tried to train Sonic. It's proving to be pretty tough, since the only damaging technique he knows it Rage.

Next I found that there was another cave in between me and Azalea. Union Cave proved to be a tougher challenge than I originally thought. I fought a Hiker and lost. Rock types are a big problem right now, I guess.

Luckily there's a Pokémon Center right next to the Cave Opening. There was also a fisherman that gave me one of his rods! It was rather old, but it hopefully would do the trick. I decided I might as well go back to New Bark Town. There's some pretty good fishing there.

I didn't have any luck. Nothing bit. I might need a better rod.

But the egg I was carrying hatched! It's a Togepi. I haven't really decided what to name him yet. Yeah, it's a boy. Out of the egg, it seems like a very bold guy. But he's also graceful and serene. It's really interesting.

Since I was in New Bark Town, I showed the Togepi to Dr. Elm. He was very excited, since a Togepi is a rare sight in Johto. He's right, you know. Dad, where you are, do you see any wild Togepi around?

Anyway, he rambled on about some legendary Pokémon and he gave me an Everstone. I don't know why he mentioned the Legendary. For some reason it reminded me of the kimono girl I had seen earlier today.

In all, today was a little bit disappointing. I did get another team member, but I'm nowhere closer to Azalea than I was yesterday. Have you ever had days like this, Dad?

Love, Austin


	4. Union Cave and Slowpoke Well

Dear Dad,

Today I finally went to Union Cave. This time around, though, I had my Togepi. Since I've been hanging around our house for the last couple days, Heading to Union Cave was a great training experience as well.

Something interesting about this Togepi is that it somehow knows how to use Extrasensory. That made it very helpful in the cave. The Onix that was giving me trouble last time went down in a few hits! And I went through the rest of the cave pretty easily. Maybe it was less challenging than I thought.

As I came into Azalea Town, There was a guy in a black uniform that was roughing up some guy. He said he was from Team Rocket. He then stood in front of the entrance to the town's landmark, the Slowpoke Well. And then there was a guy who was blocking the entrance to the gym! I didn't know what to do, so I went in to see your friend Kurt. When I talked to him, he was thinking about talking to those guys as well. So he rushed out past me and headed straight for the Well.

When I went down there, Kurt was lying on the ground. I ran over to help him, but he said he was fine. He had just thrown out his back climbing down the ladder. He told me to go on ahead and teach those creeps a lesson. So I did.

It turns out they were illegally harvesting Slowpoke Tails. That's not cool. But I defeated them. And they were suprisingly easy! I even got the name of the executive: Proton. In return, Kurt's going to make his special Apricorn Balls for me for free! He even gave me a Fast Ball today.

Today reminded me of that one time when we went on vacation to Lake Valor and we went to that fancy restaraunt. You let me have a bite of that Slowpoke Tail you were having, and I kind of liked it.

So tomorrow I'm planning on challenging the Gym. I feel pretty confident about this.

And Dad, if Team Rocket's regrouping, have you gotten any intel on it yet? Does this mean you might get to come back to Johto?

Love, Austin


End file.
